UK coins
First King Charles III Definitive Coins enter circulation – 2023 Mintage Figures announced!
Each year, one of the biggest numismatic updates comes when the latest mintage figures are announced, and The Royal Mint have just revealed the mintages of all coins that entered circulation in 2023! Every year, when this information is released, we update our Change Checker Mintage charts to see where new circulating coins rank.
Excitingly, in 2023 we saw the very first King Charles III definitive coins start to enter circulation, kicking off with the Atlantic Salmon 50p, which knocked the Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot as Britain’s new rarest 50p!
But the Salmon 50p wasn’t the only new coin that entered our change last year…
50p Mintage Figures
It’s the 2023 Salmon 50p that’s been hitting the headlines due to its incredibly low mintage of just 200,000, making it even rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p which has now been bumped down to 2nd place on our mintage chart.
The Salmon 50p wasn’t the only new 50p to enter circulation in 2023, as the Coronation 50p also made it’s way into our change.
On 10th August 2023, 5 million King Charles III Coronation 50ps entered circulation and we opened our collector map to find out where in the country they were popping up.
From the map data, we put together a list of the Top 5 places where you’re most likely to find a Coronation 50p in your change, and Birmingham came out on top with 5.1% of Coronation 50ps being found there! You can check out where else they were being found here >>
£2 Mintage Figures
Since 2016, no new commemorative £2 coins have entered circulation, and in 2023, there were also no new definitive £2s put into circulation.
The only denominations from the New UK Coinage featuring King Charles III that haven’t yet entered circulation are the Flowers of the Four Nations £2 and the Red Squirrel 2p, so the circulating £2 coin drought continues!
As nothing has changed on the £2 mintage figure chart this year, the 2002 Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games £2 remains the rarest £2 coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 485,000.
2023 Definitives
Usually, the mintage figures for definitive coins are somewhat less exciting than the commemorative coins entering circulation, as the designs have remained the same for the last 16 years. However, the 2023 mintages are particularly interesting as they confirm how many of the very first King Charles III definitive coins entered circulation!
Although we’ve already spoken about the Salmon 50p and its shockingly low mintage, we’ll still include it here as it is technically a definitive coin design.
- Hazel Dormouse 1p: 600,000
- Red Squirrel 2p: 0
- Oak 5p: 32,400,000
- Capercaillie 10p: 600,000
- Puffin 20p: 525,000
- Salmon 50p: 200,000
- Bee £1: 10,030,000
- Flowers of the Nations £2: 0
Interestingly, this makes the 2023 dated 1p, 10p and 20p the rarest coins of their denominations since decimalisation (with the exception of the 2018 and 2019 A-Z 10p coins)!
Considering this, 2023 dated coins are sure to go down in history as some of the most sought after circulating coins, so keep an eye out for them in your change!
It’s always exciting when new mintage figures are revealed, especially when it brings an end to the previous rarest UK 50p’s 15-year reign!
Have you been lucky enough to find a 2023 Salmon 50p in your change? If you’re still searching, don’t forget you can secure the Brilliant Uncirculated version as part of the New UK Coinage set. What’s more, the coins in this set feature a special privy mark which sets them aside from the ones you’ll find in your change.
Could this Bee a new error £1 coin?
2.975 million King Charles III Bee £1 coins entered circulation in August 2024. Since then, the race has been on to track down these new coins creating a buzz in the collecting world!
Many collectors have already been lucky enough to come across the Bee £1, but perhaps none so lucky as Diane Bath, who spotted a rare error on one of the coins…
The error coin causing a buzz
Diane runs The Post Office in Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, where she found a King Charles III Bee £1 struck in entirely one colour!
The image below shows the single metal coin, without the silver-coloured inner piece seen on standard United Kingdom £1 coins:
£1 coins are struck from a nickel-brass outer ring and an inner piece made from a nickel-plated brass alloy. It’s possible that this error coin was created due to the inner section not being punched out of the nickel-brass before the coin was struck. For confirmation of this, we’d suggest sending the error coin to The Royal Mint for verification.
Diane, a postmistress of over 20 years, told the press: “I am absolutely over the moon. Obviously we handle cash all the time and it’s the most exciting find I’ve ever had in over two decades.”
Worth a pretty penny
The coin was auctioned on 18th October by Ryedale Auctioneers, and whilst it had an estimated value of £500-£800, it actually sold for £1,250!
Image Credit: Ryedale Auctioneers
A similar error occurred when the first 12-sided £1 coins were released back in 2017, although only a small handful of these error coins were ever found. Reportedly, one such error coin sold for over £2,000 at auction!
Ultimately, the selling price of a rare error item like this at auction depends on how much a collector is willing to pay to get their hands on it. So remember, if you’re looking to secure an error coin on the secondary market, always do your research and be aware of fakes before you buy.
Have you spotted any errors on the new King Charles III coinage? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the Complete Set of New UK Coinage!
Whilst the Bee £1 and Salmon 50p can now be found in your change, it could be years until all 8 coins can readily be found in circulation…
So don’t miss out! Own the complete set now, with each coin including a special privy mark to set them apart from the coins in your change!
Secure the complete collection for just £32.50 + (p&p) here >>
Change Checker LIVE 50p Swap is coming to Cardiff Comic Con!
We’re extremely excited to announce that we’re bringing our Change Checker Live 50p Swap to Cardiff Comic Con!
Join us on Saturday 19th October and Sunday 20th October at Cardiff Comic Con in the Utilita Arena where we’ll be giving collectors the chance to swap ANY UK 50p coin for a brand new Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50p.
Usually, collectors only get the chance to swap their coins for one new coin design at our live swap events, however this time is a bit different…
We’re pitting two extremely popular 50p series against each other and giving you the choice of either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p!
Our Brilliant Uncirculated UK 50ps will usually set you back £5.99, plus postage – so this is your chance to get your hands on one in superior collector quality for just face value!
We’ll be taking 1,600 coins with us to swap over the weekend – half made from a mix of Star Wars™ Character Duo 50ps and the other half a mix of Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50ps – but which series will prove most popular?
Which 50p series would you chose?
At Change Checker HQ, we’ve been having quite the debate about which of these Star Wars™ series is the best, and to settle the argument once and for all, we need your help!
If you come to see us at the show, you’ll get the choice to swap your 50p for either a Star Wars™ Character Duo 50p OR a Star Wars™ Spacecraft 50p, and once you’ve made your decision, we’ll ask you to vote by placing a token in our voting tubes.
And if you’re not coming, don’t worry – we’ll be sharing the vote results at regular intervals on our social media channels, so make sure you stay tuned to keep up to date!
Cardiff Comic Con
Comic Con is a fan convention where attendees celebrate films, cult television series, video games, anime, cosplay and comic books. Cardiff Comic Con boasts around 6,000 guests each year, with some of the biggest names in the pop culture industry attending.
Credit: filmandcomicconcardiff.com
Find out more about what’s going on at this year’s Cardiff Comic Con here >>
FAQs
Where can I find you at the show?
Our exact location at the show is yet to be confirmed, but we’ll update this blog as soon as we know more information.
How many coins can I swap?
Such is the popularity of our Live Coin Swaps, and to ensure it’s fair for everybody, we’re limiting the number of swaps to strictly 1 swap per person.
Can I reserve a coin before I arrive?
To ensure a fair swap event for everyone, we do not offer reservations of coins. It is a strictly first come first served basis.
Will you have other coins with you at the show?
As well as the coins for swapping, we’ll have each of the 8 Star Wars™ 50p coins available to buy, along with some other coins we think collectors will enjoy.
Where can I buy tickets for the show?
You can buy tickets on the Cardiff Comic Con website >>
Can’t make it?
Whilst we hope to see you at our Live Swap, if you’re unable to come along, you can still secure these coins for your collection in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
